Just a Watch
by DancingInTheShire
Summary: Whit finds an old fob watch in a box from his attic, and it seems strangely familiar. Why?
1. Chapter 1

John Whittaker strolled into work on morning carrying a rather large and heavy box under his arm. He set in down on the counter with a thud, causing Connie to look up from washing the dishes.

"More books?" The red-headed teenager asked, rolling her eyes. That was the fifth box Whit had brought into his shop, "Whit's End", that week. And it was still only Wednesday, she realized with a shudder. "Do you think there'll be room for more?"

Mr. Whittaker, or Whit, as he liked to be called, laughed. "I think so. But I didn't have time to sort it at home, so I thought I'd do it here." With that, he dumped the contents of the box rather untidily on the counter. A cloud of dust rose from the pile.

"And where exactly did you find this box?" Connie coughed, waving away the dust with one hand and picking up a book with another. "_The Moon and Sixpence_," she read aloud. "Never heard of it."

"That's because it was written before I was born." Whit took the book from her and wiped the cover off with a damp cloth. He then set it down in a clean box, ready to be taken upstairs to the library. "And I found this one in the attic."

"I should have figured." Connie grinned. "I know what your attic looks like."

As it was several minutes before opening time, Connie helped Whit clean the books; she asking about certain titles, him supplying the answers. _Les Miserables, A Tale of Two Cities,_ and _The Scarlet Pimpernel, _among others, were added to the pile before they reached the bottom of the old box.

Whit was about to break it down for recycling when Connie stopped him. "Wait. I think there's something else in here…" She said. She reached her hand in and drew out what looked like a small, mid-19th century pocket watch. It had the colour of gold that hadn't been polished in ages, with an intricate and somewhat familiar design. "Recognize this?"

Whit took the watch from her, turning it over and over in his hand. "No… and yes." He said slowly. "I mean, I do… but everything in me tells me that I don't." He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. He looked up at her, and she was staring at him as if he were crazy. "Don't you normally have brown hair?"

"Whit…" she said. "There! You're ignoring it… and I just didn't want to dye my hair this morning, that's all. Think I'll give it a break." She paused. "Oh! The watch. That's what we were talking about, right?" She looked at it nervously, as it was capable of jumping out of Whit's hand and biting off hers. What possessed it to be able to throw off their minds like that?

"Yeah…" Whit said absently, staring at the old timepiece. He felt as if it were whispering to him, secrets of forgotten times and far-off places; of secrets never to be told and children long grown up and lost.

Ding! The bell over the door sounded as Eugene came dashing in, breaking him out of the spell the watch seemed to put over him. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Wow… for once…" Connie mocked him as he dashed by on his way upstairs.

"Do not tease me, Ms. Kendall! I have work to do!" He called over his shoulder. Footsteps were heard as he made his way to the Bible Room.

"Collision in 3… 2… 1…" Connie counted down, and as she hit zero a large bang was heard in the far left corner where the Imagine Station was. Whit looked at her quizzically, and she said, "He left all his tools out last night. I warned him, but he said it would be faster to just leave them out for work the next day." She shook her head, and smiled. "He'll never learn."

"Yes… but maybe he can give us a few answers about this watch."

"What wa- Oh! Yeah, maybe he can run a few test on it or something." Connie was frightened now. What was it that caused her to forget about it so easily? And why did it look so familiar?

"Connie…" Whit started, getting slightly nervous himself, "Do you have a watch like this?"

So that's why it's so familiar! "Yeah, actually, I do. But it doesn't work or anything. I've thought to throw it out several times, but something keeps holding me back."

"Huh." Whit said, deep in thought. Something was nagging at him, like a mental itch in the back of his brain.

Connie went to the bottom of the stairs. "EUGENE! WE NEED YOU!" She called. Whit winced. "You could have used the intercom," He said, rubbing his left ear.

"Sorry," Connie grinned sheepishly, "But it's faster this way." As to prove her point, there was the sound of footsteps going from the Bible Room towards the stairs, and after a moment Eugene came to the front counter. "Yes, Ms. Kendall?"

"We need you to run some tests on something we found." Whit said.

"Alright, if you will allow me to see this object, I will commence shortly." Connie rolled her eyes, but not enough for Eugene to see and comment. There wasn't time for that today.

Whit handed him the watch, and Eugene set it on the counter and took a magnifying glass out of his breast pocket. "You just happened to have one of those in your pocket?" Connie asked sarcastically.

"Of course," Eugene continued to look at the watch, letting her sarcasm roll off him. "It just looks like a watch… why do you want me to run tests on it?"

"Well, this may sound weird, but we think that there is some sort of mystery surrounding it, and we thought that there might be some sort of markings or dust on it to help to solve it."

Eugene looked up, and Connie could almost see the "do you know how stupid that sounds?" in his eyes. But he nodded, put it in his pocket, and took it upstairs to the computer room. He knew better than to argue with Mr. Whittaker.

"Connie, do you think that you could run to your house and get your watch? It might help." Whit asked.

"Yeah, of course." Connie reached for her coat. She slipped it on, and walked to the door. Jason Whittaker, Whit's son, met her there.

"Oh, hey Connie," Jason greeted her. She greeted him somewhat absently, and kissed him lightly on the lips before heading out the door. They had gotten engaged last month, and planned to marry in the near future.

"So… what's up?" Jason asked casually. "...Dad?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Jason. Just thinking."

"Yeah, I could kinda tell. Anything you want to share?"

Whit thought for a moment before responding. "Well, it's this fob watch I found in the attic. I accidentally brought it in with a bunch of books, and I would have thrown it away, if Connie hadn't noticed it."

"So? It's just a watch."

"Yeah, I know, but there's something about it… that's weird. I'm not exactly sure." Whit lowered his voice slightly. 'I could have sworn that it was talking to me."

"Talking to you?" Jason would have laughed if Whit didn't look so serious. "Dad. Really?"

"I'm serious, Jason." Whit did indeed look deadly serious.

"But… I thought you didn't believe in ghosts and the like." Jason was genuinely confused. Here was his father, going against something that he believed his whole entire life."

"Now, don't jump to any conclusions, Jason." Whit smiled. "I never said I thought it was that."

"But you thought it. Where is this watch now?"

"Eugene has it. I-" Whit started, then stopped as a loud crash was heard coming from the computer room. Whit and Jason dashed upstairs and into the secret room, only to find Eugene out cold with the watch in his hand.

_Maybe there's more to this watch than I thought._


	2. Chapter 2

Connie pulled her jacket tighter around her as she walked against the wind toward the house that she and Penny Wise shared. She wondered where she left that old fobwatch... It was probably still packed away from the move. Or still in one of her mom's boxes.

_Her mom. _Connie smiled sadly at the thought of her mother, now three months dead. She would have loved this mystery about the watches... _Come to think of it, mom knew about the watch. _She thought. She reached back far into her memory and replayed the scene in her head.

Connie was just a tot then, no more than three. She loved going through the old boxes and junk that was in her mom's attic... And one day she found the watch. It was a beautiful thing, brighter and newer than Whit's, with the same pattern, only different; with more circles and dots. She picked it up to admire it, and started to try and open it with her chubby fingers.

"Connie!" Her mother called up the ladder. "Come for lunch!"

"OK mommy!" She said, walking back towards the ladder. "Look what I found! Isn't it pretty?"

Her mother stared at the watch, then slowly reached up and swung her down from the top of the ladder. She set her down, and took the timepiece carefully from her. Connie thought she saw a tear in her eye.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" She asked, hugging her around the leg. June smiled and stroked her head.

"When you're older, I'll explain, ok? You wouldn't understand, now. But let's go have lunch."

A car honked near by, waking her out of her reminiscence. _Why had her mom cried at the sight of the watch? What was it? Or... What did her mom want to forget? _The last thought hit Connie like a sack of bricks. Why did that sound... Right?

Connie reached her house several minutes later. She stepped in, calling, "Penny! You home?"

"I'm in the attic, Connie!" Came the faint reply.

Connie made her way upstairs and climbed carefully up the ladder. "What are you doing up here?"

Penny dusted her hands on the front of her already dusty pants, then wiped her forehead, leaving a grey streak. "I'm trying to make room for several paintings, but it's proving to be a harder job than I thought."

"Ok, but could you maybe stop for a break and help me find something?"

"Of course. What?"

"An old pocketwatch."

Penny surveyed then mountains of boxes around her. "Ok... Where do we start?"

"You take this side..." Connie gestured to the left side of the room, "...and I'll take this side." She walked over to a box on the right hand side of the dusty room and began to search through it. "It'll be on or near the top, as I saw it only two or three months ago. I put it on top of the junk in one of these boxes."

"Ok, that's good. But would you mind telling me _why _you need this old watch?"

Connie smiled. "Well, this is going to sound weird, but we think that there might be a mystery connected to it."

AIOAIOAIOAIO

"Eugene! EUGENE!" Jason called, slapping him lightly on the cheeks. Eugene groaned, then opened his eyes. He held out the watch to Whit. "I've finished the tests... There is indeed something supernatural about it."

Whit took the watch, and Jason helped him up and into a chair. "Are you sure, Eugene?" He asked nervously. _Something supernatural? _

"My brain tells me that of course not, but I can't deny what I've seen... And what it did." He looked at it apprehensively, as if it would do something else to him.

"Hold on, Eugene. You said it did something to you?" Whit said, gingerly setting the offending watch down on the table.

Eugene sat up a little straighted in the chair and adjusted his glasses. "I was doing a bit of research on this type of watch on my laptop, and I realized that I haven't even opened it. I tried too for a while, and when I did finally get it open, a bright golden light shot out and hit me in the face. It must have knocked me unconscious."

Jason raised one eyebrow. "A light hit you and knocked you out."

"Yes, Jason, I know it sounds ludicrous, but that's what happened." Eugene shot back.

"Ok, but I want to see this for myself." Jason reached for the watch, but Eugene grabbed his arm.

"No! You do _not _want that to happen to you."

"Why? Remember I'm an ex-NSA agent, I've been through more than a blow to the head."

"I know, but it was more. It was like... Like it got inside my head and played with my memories, showing me different times and planets and what he did to those who tried to stop him." Eugene started trembling, and Whit put an arm around him and gently helped him up.

"How about we go downstairs and have a coffee," He said. "That should help clear your head."

"Good idea." Eugene said faintly. As they left the room, Whit called over his shoulder, "Do _not _touch that watch, Jason!"

"Fine, fine." Jason watched them leave, then turned to the table. The watch sat there, looking so old and innocent. _He? What did Eugene mean by "he"? _Jason shook his head, as if to clear it, then followed them downstairs for coffee.

AIOAIOAIOAIO

"Found it!" Connie exclaimed triumphantly, pulling the old watch from the sixth box she was going through. Penny set the one she was working on down with a sigh.

"I'm glad that's over. Let's see?"

Connie handed her the watch, and Penny turned it over in her hand. "Well, it looks mid-19th century-"

"I know that, Penny. But I need to take it back to Whits End." She took it from her roommate and put her coat back on. "Will you be coming by the shop later?"

"Oh, you know me; I'll probably drop by later for a Raspberry Ripple." Penny grinned up at her.

"Ok, see you then." Connie stepped carefully down the ladder and out the door. This time, she hurried back to the shop, and was there just as Whit had finished making the coffee and was pouring Eugene a cup. He had regained some of his colour, and had stopped shaking so much.

"I got the watch," Connie walked up to the counter. "Sorry it took so long; I had to go through a few boxes in my attic." She handed it to Whit, and he looked at it closely with the magnifying glass Eugene had left there earlier.

"Well, it looks a lot like mine, only with more circular patterns. I wonder what it means?"

"Do you think it actually means something, Whit?" Connie asked. "I just thought it was some sort of design."

"Yes, if you look carefully at it-" he handed her the watch and glass, "-you'll notice that there is a pattern to it. It's not just random. And there are these semi circles and dots-" he pointed towards the middle of it, "-that appear more frequently than others. It's the same on my watch."

"So it's some sort of language?" Connie asked.

"It appears so."

"Eugene, why aren't you talking at all?" Connie looked over at him. He gulped his coffee, shaking his head and holding up a finger.

"Eugene had a misadventure with my watch." Whit filled her in on what happened. Connie's eyes widened, and she set the watch on the counter.

"Maybe we should just get rid of it," she said. "If it's going to hurt us, then I don't care about any mystery connected to it." She gestured toward the trash can sitting by conveniently. Eugene set down his mug and shook his head violently.

"No, no. A thousand times, no!" He put his hand protectively over it.

"But Eugene, it hurt you! You got knocked out!" Connie pleadingly put her hand on top of his.

"Ms. Kendall, if it was anything else, I'd agree with you. But this watch... I don't know. I'd go through it again just to find out its secret."

Connie sighed, and lifted her hand off his. "Alright then, if you're going to be so stubborn about it. But... be careful?"

Eugene grinned at her. "Aren't I always?"


	3. Chapter 3

Penny groaned. She had been bending over in the attic for more than an hour, and her back was killing her. She straightened, dusted her hands on the front of her pants, and observed the headway she had made. Which is hardly anything, she thought grimly, but brightened when she remembered her promise to Connie about stopping by the shop for an ice cream. She quickly climbed down the ladder, cleaned up, and walked to Whit's End.

"Good morning!" She called cheerfully. Connie looked up from the cash register to face her roommate.

"Oh, hey, Penny." She said, somewhat absently.

"I'll have that Raspberry Ripple now," She smiled. "I deserve it after what I did in the attic."

"Oh yeah? And just how much did you do?" Connie asked skeptically.

"About... Half a wall."

"Yeah, I thought so." Connie rolled her eyes and giggled. She went into the kitchen to make the ice cream, and upon returning handed it to Penny.

"Thank you... this looks delicious!" Penny took a bite, then looked up at Connie, who was again staring off into space. "Connie?"

"Huh?" Connie jerked, then looked over at Penny. "I'm sorry Penny, I'm just distracted this morning." She relayed the previous events to her friend, who gasped.

"Is he alright?" Penny asked, worried.

"Yes, he's fine; he's up in the computer room now researching the watch." Connie sighed and shook her head. "He can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Not unlike some people," Penny winked, returning to her ice cream.

"...what's that supposed to mean? Penny!"

AIOAIOAIOAIO

"WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY..."

"What the-" Jason almost fell out of his chair, in which he had dozed off. He grabbed his phone, turning the volume off. "Connie..." He muttered, shaking his head and smiling slightly. "Hello?"

"Jason!" The voice greeted him. An all-too-familiar voice.

"Hello, Donovan." Jason said, letting a little annoyance creep into his voice.

"Look, Jason, I know that you're no longer an agent here with us, but we need you on this one!" Donovan spoke quickly, as if he was afraid that Jason may hang up on him, which had crossed his mind.

"Donovan, you know I'm done with the agency!"

"Yes, but we thought you might be interested in this one, as it's... more personal than normal."

"More personal?" Jason sat up a little straighter. "Ok, I'm listening."

"We've been tracking a rather mysterious person of late," Donovan began. "He's- or they, rather; more people have joined him since we picked up on him- have been moving from city to city, searching for something, and ransacking entire homes in the process."

"Ok... Why not just arrest them?" Jason was slightly confused. How was this personal?

"Because we can almost never catch them in the act or on tape, and when we do, they seem to have no memory of doing it."

"So?" Jason was completely lost.

"It's weird. We get a call saying that someone is stalking a person. Usually a man. Then his house is turned upside down, and the same man who was being stalked is caught robbing anything from a corner store to a bank. When we bring him in, he denies everything. Says he doesn't even remember leaving his house that morning."

"But Donovan, how is this personal?"

"Because we've been tracking a man for about a week now, and he was last seen about a half hour ago near Odyssey."

AIOAIOAIOAIO

Jason hung up the phone, and sighed. He wasn't sure what he should do, and he told Donovan he'd think about it for under ten minutes then call him back. What would he say to Connie, and his dad…

"Jason?" Connie called brightly, coming into the office where he sat.

"Hey." She bent to kiss him on the cheek, then sat beside him behind the desk. "So… what's with my ringtone?"

She giggled. "Something to wake you up." She handed him a cup of coffee she had brought him.

"Well, it worked." He took the coffee and thanked her.

There was a silence. "Jason... Is there something wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on his arm.

"Well... There is something." He filled her in on Donovan's phone call. She raised an eyebrow.

"Jason... How many times has he said 'this is the last time?'"

"I know, I know, but I feel like I have to help out... And I want to, too." He admitted, smiling sheepishly.

She smiled back at him; she couldn't help it. Sometimes he could be too adorable. "Well, at least you won't be leaving."

"Yep," he said putting an arm around her, "And if I take it, maybe you could help me out."

"We'll see." She snuggled closer into him.

Eugene came in. "Connie, Mr. Whittaker needs you to-" He started, then stopped. Connie sat up, and Jason put his arm down. "Oh... I apologize for interrupting you..."

"It's fine, Eugene; I'll go." Connie left, and Eugene was left standing rather awkwardly in the centre of the room.

"So... How goes the research?" Jason asked, breaking the silence.

"Not especially good; I can't find any watches online that have a pattern remotely close to Mr Whittaker's or Connie's. But I'll keep trying." With that, he hurried out of the room.

Jason picked up his phone, and dialed Donovan's number. "Hello, Donovan? This is Jason." He sighed. "I'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4

_"Well?" Constance asked brightly. "Where are we?" _

_"Not totally sure..." John spoke quietly, more to himself than his friend. "Somewhere off the northern coast of Midnight, I believe." He fiddled with the dials until a clear pictures came through on the screen. "Yep, I was right." He looked up and grinned. "Want to go exploring?"_

_She grinned back, and skipped towards the doors. "Wait!" John called after her. "You'll need a suit." _

_Constance turned, her smile now a pout. "But John..."_

_"I know you hate them, but the air is poisonous." He got two suits out of the closet, one red, one green._

_"It's not that I hate it, I just look ridiculous." She took the green suit, and hesitated."Don't you dare laugh."_

_He smiled. "I'll do my best."_

_She sighed, slipping on the suit, complete with a helmet tinted green. "Well?"_

_John tried so hard not to laugh, but the effort was futile. She was right, she did look so funny. _

_Constance tried to scowl, but couldn't help smiling. "John..."_

Whit awoke, laughing in his sleep. He sat up and glanced at the clock. _2:37. _He sighed, and lay back down.

AIOAIOAIOAIO

_"Shh." Whit whispered. He held out a hand, helping Constance up from the polished marble floor._

_"Sorry," she whispered back. "But this floor is slippery."_

_They crept along, staying out of sight from the 55th Century high-tech security cameras. Constance almost fell again, but John caught her before she hit the floor a second time. _

_"Thanks," she said, then gasped. John followed her line of sight and smothered a laugh._

_"We found it!" He took her hand. "Come on!" _

_They quietly ran towards the centre display. There, in their glass and diamond cases, stood the most beautiful vases Constance had ever seen. John took out his Sonic Screwdriver and started working on getting the case open._

_"So... That's new. Where'd you get it?" Constance motioned to the Screwdriver. _

_"A friend gave me the plans, and I built one last night." John said, and after a second, the case popped open. Constance squealed, and John clapped a hand over her mouth. "SHH." _

_"Sorry." She grinned sheepishly. She took a sack out of her purse, which was bigger on the inside, and held it open. John slipped the vases inside._

_"Why are we doing this again?" She asked._

_"Because," John put another one it, "this time tomorrow this place will have vanished. 'The lost moon of Poosh' will become the centre of conversation and study for thousands of years. We'll return these to Poosh when we get the chance. They'll thank us." With that, he carefully set the last vase inside, and tied the top shut. Constance put the sack inside her purse. _

_"Why can't we just tell the president of Poosh that his moon and a museum on it will go missing tomorrow, and let them do this?" Constance asked nervously, looking around for security guards._

_"You think they'd believe us?"_

_Connie shook her head. "No," she admitted. "So... How do we get out? We can't go the same way we came; the guard will be there by now."_

_"I know..." John thought for a moment, and started to say something, but was interrupted by a shout._

_"Hey you! Stay where you are!" _

_"Feel up to running?" He grabbed her hand and grinned._

_"When am I not?" She laughed, and they took off running through the hall._

"Slow down, John; you know I'm slower than you!" Connie said. She opened her eyes, and sat up. "That was... Weird." She said aloud. She glanced at the clock. It read 6:46, so she decided to get up. She showered, and walked to Whit's End just as the sun was coming up.

She stuck the key in the lock, but it was already open. She opened the door cautiously.

"Whit? Eugene?" She called. The only answer she got was the echo of her own voice bouncing around the empty shop.

_Whit must have left it unlocked by accident, _she rationalized.

She slowly walked towards the front counter, then paused. She took a deep breath, and quickly peeked behind the counter. Nobody. _You're paranoid, Connie. _She shook her head, and went to the kitchen to finish the dishes she had left the night before. She was trying to figure out what the heck was Poosh, when she heard a rather large crash upstairs. _Oh no._

She went to the bottom of the stairs."He-hello?" She squeaked. Visions of Hank Murray flashed through her brain, so she decided to call the police. _Better safe than sorry, _she decided.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ms. Kendall." Connie felt a hand on her arm, the arm with which she was holding her smart phone. She froze, too terrified to move.

"Who... who are you?" She whispered, barely audible. The hand was cold, with a scaly feel; with long fingernails that brushed her arm.

The hand moved up her arm to the base of her neck, nails brushing her throat; nails that could easily slice it. She caught a glimpse of a long forked tongue out of the corner of her eye. "That doesn't matter. What matters is you." The Thing chuckled, then hissed, "You, my dear, are going to help me."

AIOAIOAIOAIO

_Ding! _Eugene hurried into the shop.

"Apologies for being so late, Ms. Kendall, Katrina is down with a cold, and I needed to-" He stopped, eyes widened. "Uhh..."

"What, Eugene?" Connie smiled, perhaps a bit too wide.

"It's just that I've never seen this place so... Clean." He spun slowly around, taking it all in. "What time did you get here this morning?"

"Oh, around 7:15." She coughed twice, and cleared her throat.

"Are you coming down with something also?" Eugene moved towards her, concern written on his face. "Your voice is a bit dry."

"I'm fine." She quickly dismissed him, stepping farther back. "Just... Gotta get the voice down."

Eugene raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." She continued cleaning off the counter, keeping her back to her concerned friend. "I'm alright."

"If you say so..." He slipped off his coat and hung it on the rack. Once he had disappeared into the kitchen, Connie took a deep breath.

"Get ahold of yourself." She dropped the cloth into the sink. "This'll never work if you slip up."

"Good morning, Connie!" Whit strolled in the door.

"Morning, Whit." She tried to sound as normal as possible.

"I had the weirdest dream last night," he said, setting several shopping bags on the counter. "We were traveling in this... Ship, of sorts."

"Oh really?" This sounded promising.

"Yeah, and you didn't want to put on a space suit."

"...is that all?"

"Yeah, I think so. Or all I can remember."

_Drat._

"Alright, well, I'd better get to work." With that, he tied on his apron and went into the kitchen. Connie sighed, and unloaded the bags. _Oranges, peaches, milk. Double drat._

She put the milk in the fridge. She turned to put the oranges away, and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She grabbed the counter for support, and stumbled to the closest booth, resting her head on the table. When she felt like she was able to stand again, she slowly made her way to the handicapped washroom. She locked the door behind her, then collapsed.

The Thing picked itself up, leaving Connie on the floor. It dusted itself off, smiling to itself. _I was able to possess her for three hours and nobody suspects a thing._

Connie raised herself slightly off the floor. "Oh so that's what you look like," She panted, "I couldn't get a good look at you before you jumped into my body like that. Is that what you are? A body-jumper?" The Thing didn't reply, so she asked, "What do you want?" Fright wasn't the predominant feeling she had right now; she felt extremely annoyed and mad that her privacy had been breached in this way.

"Now that would be telling, wouldn't it." He smiled evilly. "But I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in telling you."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Any words in italics are either the alien inside Connie thinking, or a dream/flashback thing. Enjoy!**

Jason sat at the counter, a doughnut in one hand, the morning newspaper in the other. He sighed, tossing it down. There was never anything interesting in Odyssey's papers... Just ads, events, and the odd interview.

_Ding! _Jason turned from his position at the counter.

"Hey, Dad." Jason greeted his father with a smile, then took a bite of the greasy deep-fried bagel he was holding.

"Good morning, Jason." Whit returned. "You really should lay off those, y'know." He mock frowned, gesturing at the doughnut.

Jason looked at it, wincing. "I know. But Connie makes such good ones." He took another bite.

Whit smiled. "Yes, I know. It's the only thing she can make too."

The laughed together as the bell rang again. "Shh! Here she comes."

Jason turned around, all traces of laughter gone from his face. "Morning, love."

"Good morning, Jason!" She said, kissing him lightly. She greeted Whit before disappearing into the kitchen. _That's what Connie would have done, right? _He flipped through her recent memories, relived to see that Connie had greeted Jason several times with a kiss. Last night he had gone through her memories and noticed a reoccurring watch that caused a lot of hype around the shop. He recalled Eugene's words about what was inside, and decided that it was worth taking a look at.

AIOAIOAIOAIO

Connie crept down the basement downstairs to the workshop below. How he survived the day, he didn't know... The monotony of serving ice cream, talking to the children who frequented the shop, the putting money in the cash register... He was tempted to slip a few bills into his pocket, but decided against it. If all this turned out to be a dead end, he'd take the cash and get out of town. But something was different this time. What the annoying genius with the glasses had said sounded like what he was looking for.

Tiptoeing down the rickety steps, he almost tripped on a loose board. Nearly yelping in surprise, he steadied himself on the hand rail and listened for footsteps above. Hearing none, he continued down the stairs into the basement without any further incidents.

He made his way to the workbench, grinning a sinister grin. The watch smiled back, almost daring him to open it up. He reached his hand down, but hesitated at the last second. What if...

"Connie?" The lights flicked on. He had left them off, as he could see in perfectly in the dark and it would hide him from anyone who would walk past the shop this late at night. Now, he turned to face Whit, blinking in the bright white light.

"Hey... hey, Whit." He turned to face the older man, clearing his throat to get back into the proper voice.

There was an awkward pause. "So... What are you doing down here?"

"Uh..." _What would Connie be doing down here? Think, think... Well, I could just tell a half truth. _"Just wanted to have another look at the watches!" _Why shouldn't Connie want to have a look at the watches? One of them is hers, after all. _Connie grinned up at him, confident he had said the right thing. _But wait. Whit had left to go home. Why is he here? _"Why are you here, Whit? I thought you left."

"Yeah, I did. But I guess I'm here for the same reason you are." He shrugged and walked past her, picking up his watch.

_Don't you dare open it, Whittaker._

Whit fiddled with the timepiece for a moment, then looked up at Connie. "Are you alright, Con? You haven't seemed yourself this past week."

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine! What makes you say that?"

"You've just seemed slightly... distant. Like you've been having problems outside of work. Are you and Jason... ok?"

_Seriously? _"Yes! There are no problems between Jason and I, Whit. I love him. You know that." _Ugh._

Whit smiled, relieved. He was so happy that Jason had finally settled down and started a relationship (with Connie, of all people! Whit considered it a match made in heaven. Not that he told anyone that, of course), and he would hate to see anything happen to the cutest couple in Odyssey. (Sometimes he had to punch something to get rid of these shippy feelings. Like what he was feeling right now.) He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. "Is there anything else wrong?"

_If only you knew, Whittaker. _"Nope! Nothing at all." He must have said that enough like Connie, because that was all it took to temporarily convince Whit.

Actually, something was wrong. He could feel this body weakening. It's a shame, really; he could only spend so much time hiding in a body before the body would start to shut down. Normally, he'd use it up, then jump out before it died, leaving the body to be found several hours or days later. But not this time. This was too promising.

AIOAIOAIOAIO

_"John!" Constance shrieked, holding onto the TARDIS console for dear life. "We're going to crash!" _

_John ran around the console, pressing buttons, pulling levers, and spinning dials. "I'm doing everything that I can!" He cried. "Hold on!"_

_"I am!"_

_He pulled a lever, then stopped. That was it. The TARDIS was out of control, and it indeed looked like they were going to crash. Constance looked at him, fearful. He pulled her to himself._

_"I don't know where we'll end up, but it'll be alright." He said, trying to confort her._

_She attempted to smile. "As long as it's not on Skaro."_

_He laughed. "Yes, but we'll be tog-" He started, but was cut off when the TARDIS made impact with the ground. They were thrown to the floor, and water seeped from... the ceiling?_

_"John..."_

_"Yeah, Con?"_

_"Why is the pool upstairs again?"_

_"Sorry."_

_They shakily got to their feet, and John took a look at the moniter. "The atmosphere looks good, so at least it's habit..." John stopped. No. Please, no._

_"What, John?" Constance came around and looked over his shoulder._

_"We're on earth. 1923."_

_She whacked him playfully on the arm. "That's not so bad!"_

_He turned to look at her. "Yes, but they have a very rudementary understanding of aliens, like ourselves. First of all, they wouldn't have the parts to fix the TARDIS," which was emmitting a concerning amount of smoke and sparks, "for at least 100 years, and second of all, if they found out about us and our alien-ness, they would most likely hold us captive and run horriffic tests on us!" _

_Constance huffed. "They can't all be like that!"_

_"Yes, they can. And they are." He walked away, but she followed._

_"Ok, bad humans aside; I'm starving!" She tugged his sleve, just like his daughter. His daughter. The memory of the events from the previous day hit him like Rassilon's staff when he was late for a Time Council meeting. _

_"The- The Time War..." He stuttered, slumping over. How could he have forgotten? His wife, children, parents; gone. _

_Constance covered her mouth and let out a strangled sob. She had no family, but they were her people. _

_"We... we abandoned them." She sobbed, and John pulled her into a hug. _

_"There was nothing we could have done," He said, for her assurance as well as his. "It was time locked. We couldn't get in." _

_"There could have been a way! We're Time Lords, there's always a way!" _

_He smiled sadly. "Not this time."_

_They stayed in the TARDIS for several weeks, doing nothing but mourning for their beloved home. When the Daleks attacked, they had been off the planet, and when they had returned, they couldn't land. The planet was already time locked. And all they could feel was guilt that they had not been there to help._


	6. Chapter 6

_Constance drummed her fingers against the console. It had been exactly three months, 6 days, 14 hours, and 22 seconds since they had crashed on Earth (not that she was counting, of course… drat this internal clock). John busied himself with trying to fix the TARDIS, and she had needed to take her mind off what had happened, so she went exploring. Earth was interesting, to say the least. Especially the inhabitants, although they reminded her of her own people lost to her forever. But it all became boring after a while (especially since John didn't let her go out after dark or beyond the city limits without him there), so she took to watching him try to fix their ship… which was just as-or even more- boring. _

_With a final twist of a screw, John pulled himself from under the console. Handing him a cloth, Constance couldn't help but laugh at his oil and dirt smudged face. Wiping his forehead and ignoring her giggles, he dashed to the other side of the console. _

"_That should do it!" He said, pressing down a few buttons. _

"_Really? Like… we could finally leave?" She brightened at this._

_He nodded, grinning. Like most (if not all) Timelords, traveling was in their blood, and being tied to one spot for several months had given them a severe case of cabin fever._

_The engine sputtered to life, and the lights flickered on. Constance squealed and John laughed, the first real laugh he had since they got here. But then… nothing. _

"_What?" The grins on their faces disappeared as fast as they had come. John felt his way to the control panel and flicked a few switches. The bright emergency lights glared down giving them a frail, washed-out look, which only accentuated the disappointment radiating from their features. _

"_That's it." John threw down the cloth and angrily made his way towards the stairs. _

"_That's it?" Constance echoed__,__ her voice barley above a whisper. "You're just going to give up?" _

_He paused. "There's nothing more I can do." He sighed as he ran his fingers through his flaming red hair, still facing away from her. "I've done every single thing I've thought of to get her up and running again. I just don't have the parts to fix her properly. Only on Gallifrey and maybe two other planets in five hundred years I could get them, but we'd need a time machine to get there…" His voice trailed off, and in a sudden flare of rage his fist made contact with the wall. For half a second he forgot what had happened in a flash of pain. _

"_That's not going to help." He finally turned and saw her standing there, tears rolling down her face, but strong; hands planted firmly on her hips in the best impression of his mother she could muster. _

_He leaned his head against the wall. "I'm sorry, Con." He whispered. "I tried so hard. I tried-" His reserve fell off like a mask, and he crumpled to the floor in tears. He had held back his emotions, trying to be strong for her, but one can only do that for so long until they break. _

_He heard soft footsteps behind him, then a hand on his shoulder. She sat beside him, her very presence being a comfort. A thousand thoughts coursed through his mind; a thousand things he wanted to say. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She understood everything, though, and wrapped him in a tight embrace._

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

"Marthaaaa…" The Doctor whined. "How much longer?" _What have I done? _He grumbled to himself. The day had started normally enough; with him tinkering around with the TARDIS and she forcing him to eat _something. _He would comply by grabbing a banana ("_That's not enough! If you were a real Doctor, like me, you'd know that!"_) and get back to work. She would fix herself a proper breakfast, to set as an example of what you should have for the first meal of the day, and watch him until the TARDIS had had enough. So when he cut the next wire, she burned him. Martha dressed his wound, and then mentioned that she'd like to do some shopping. He set the co-ordinates for a grocery store on earth, but the TARDIS had other plans. When they stepped out of the ship, instead of seeing London, they were greeted with a large sign that boasted _Welcome to Shiblor, home to the biggest shopping mall in the galaxy!_ The Doctor laughed and said something about how Shiblor literally translates into _mall, _but Martha didn't hear him. She was ecstatic, and he knew he was in for a long day.

"Just a few more minutes, Doctor." She said absently, for the umpteenth time that hour. Travelling with the Doctor had is pros and cons, one con being the Doctor's nagging and whining. But she was naturally a patient person, and had soon learned to block it out. She tried looking over her list, but something was bugging her.

She had started to feel uneasy shortly after landing on the planet, but had ignored it in shopping. Then it had progressed until she felt someone was always behind her; never close, never far.

"Doctor?" She looked up from her list. He had his mouth open, presumably to again protest about how long they had been there, but quickly shut it at her glare.

"Yes?" He squeaked after a short moment of silence.

She sighed. He could be _such a baby _sometimes. "Do you feel… like someone is watching you?"

His demeanour instantly changed, and he looked around in a very secret-agent like way. "Yes," he whispered. "I've felt it for some days now."

"Someone's been _tracking us?!"_ She screeched. The Doctor covered her mouth, to which she clawed off and repeated, whispering, "Someone's been _tracking us_?!"

It was his turn to sigh. "Yes. At least I think so."

"What are you gonna do about it, then?!"

"Relax, Martha, if they wanted us dead, we'd be dead by now." He turned and started heading back to the TARDIS.

"You can't just- just- _walk away_!" She spluttered, jogging to keep up with his long-legged stride. His words made her anything but relaxed.

"I have been doing something about it, you know." He said quietly.

"Well that's a relief." She said with more than just a touch of sarcasm. "What?"

"Wherever we've landed over the past several days I've had the TARDIS do a scan of all the lifeforms on the planet." He stated proudly.

"So?" _Bloody Timelord. _"How does that help us?"

"It means, Martha…" _Bloody human. Needs everything spelled out to her. _"…that I'll be able look through the data and see which ones were there wherever we've been. It'll narrow it down, at least."

They walked in silence for several minutes, thinking. The Doctor wasn't too worried; most of the lifeforms the scanner picked up were peaceable creatures. Martha, on the other hand, was extremely worried; but if the Doctor wasn't, why should she?

There was a rustle in the bushes behind them, and several pairs of bright glowing eyes peered out, accompanied with loud snuffling. The Doctor put his hand out to get Martha's attention.

"Don't turn around. Don't stop." He whispered. "Act casual." He grabbed her hand and started whistling a lively tune.

"Why?" She breathed, her heart pounding in time to his song.

"No time. If I say run…" Four large, wolfish dogs jumped onto the path behind them. Her heart stopped beating all together when she heard one cry, "There he is! _Get him_!"

"…RUN!" The Doctor finished. He dragged her along behind him, all the while screaming for her to not turn around.

He shoved her into the TARDIS, falling on top of her in the process. They scrambled to their feet, and the Doctor ran to the console to dematerialize the ship.

He spun around to face her. "Did they see you?" He yelled the question, grabbing her by the shoulders. Martha had never seen him this agitated. "Did they see your face?" He shook her a little.

"No! I don't- I don't think so." She shouted back. "Why is it so important?!"

He turned back to the control panel and started typing furiously into the keyboard, then pausing sigh and run his fingers through his wild brown hair and down over his face. "Martha, do you trust me?"

She was a little surprised at the question, but answered without any remark. "Of course."

"Good." He pressed a few buttons, and a weird-looking headset with a jumble of wires fell from the ceiling. "Because I'll have to become human."

"What…? Why? _DOCTOR_!" She grabbed his arm to get his full attention. "You're scaring me!"

He stopped untangling the mess of wires and took her by the shoulders, gently this time. She relaxed slightly at his touch, but was still trembling.

"Martha, the aliens that are following us are the Family of Blood. They're spirits that can possess a living thing, if you like, and their lifespans are only three months. That's why they want me. They want the consciousness of a Timelord to live forever." He stated simply, giving her the condensed explanation.

"So if you're human, they won't be able to sniff you out." Even though she was far from completely understanding, it was starting to make more sense.

"Exactly." He patted her shoulders and gave her an encouraging smile, which she tried to return, but failed.

"How could you tell it was them? And why didn't they show up on the scanner?"

"In answer to number one…" The Doctor adjusted the headset to fit him properly, "I could feel them trying to suck the life out of me. Literally." Before Martha could reply he continued, "To answer number two, they don't have bodies. I set the TARDIS to only scan for lifeforms with bodies, as I thought only bodily creatures would be of any threat to us." He set down the headset and started typing in co-ordinates. "Remember when I said I was the last of my people?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Uh-huh. You said they all died in a war… or something." She came up beside him.

"Well, I just found out several weeks ago that that's not entirely true."

Martha's face lit up, a stark contrast to what it was a few seconds prior. "That's great! Isn't it? I mean, you won't be alone anymore-" The Doctor put up a hand to stop her. "What? Aren't you glad?"

"Yes-" He let himself half smile before continuing, "-but if they knew that it was my fault that they lost their planet and their people…"

"But then why are we going to see them?" She asked, assuming that was where he had set the co-ordinates to.

"Because they're sitting ducks, so to speak. Their TARDIS is down, so they won't be able to know if and when they come." He sighed. "I'd rather face two members of the High Council than let the Family of Blood live forever."


End file.
